


A Christmas Miracle

by itbeajen



Series: 25 Days of Christmas - 2017 [19]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: 25 Days of Christmas, Christmas Miracle, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 10:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13075449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbeajen/pseuds/itbeajen
Summary: Sometimes even with the help of your entire group of friends, the two of you are still blind as a bat when it comes to each other's feelings.





	A Christmas Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of the characters that are mentioned. I am not making any profit from this fic and I write purely for the love of the characters. Fire Emblem is the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

When you first met him, he was your mother’s friend’s son. Apparently they went to the same school and graduated together before your family moved away only to come back. You couldn’t help but watch wide eyed as Ike and Mist played, and upon noticing your sudden tightened grip on your mother’s hand, she glances down and asked, “Why don’t you go play with them, [Name]?”

You flinched and looked up at her. Fear and curiosity are evident in those bright orbs, but you gently released the grip on your mother’s hand before softly shaking your head. Your mother sighed, a fond smile on her lips, but her friend, Ike’s mother, slowly kneels down to your height and gives you a soft smile.

“It’s okay, [Name], Ike and Mist are around your age,” she cooed. Upon hearing their names, both children glanced over at their mother, and your gaze immediately is caught by the bright azure blue orbs. They were filled with wonder, and with the way the light reflected off it, it was as though you were looking at a rare gem. He slowly tilts his head, but before he could resume keeping Mist occupied, his rambunctious younger sister is already approaching you, effectively piquing your interest and stealing your attention.

The shade of turquoise that enhanced her already bright demeanor reminded you of the clear blue skies during the summer. She gives you a bright smile and sticks out her hand, “I’m Mist!”

You glanced at her hand, then at her and smiled, “I’m [Name].”

“[Name]? That’s pretty!” She giggled before turning to her brother and beckoned him over. Ike slowly made his way towards you and she points at him, “This is Ike! My older brother!”

She lets go of your hand, and Ike gives you a curt nod before awkwardly offering his hand. His gaze falters from yours every now and then and he cleared his throat, “I’m Ike, nice to meet you [Name].”

You hesitated before gently fitting your hand in his and giving it a small shake. There’s finally a smile on your face, and it pleases both parents when you happily replied, “I’m [Name]. Nice to meet you two!”

***

School was a strange place. When you first transferred in, there was a buzz of excitement in the air. A new student? In this school? It’s less likely than you’d think.

So when people noticed that you were being guided around the school by Ike of all people caused an even bigger reaction than you would have expected. Ike was quiet; quiet yet commanded his own sort of presence. He had the aura of someone you couldn’t ignore. And you suppose his height played a big role too.

“[Name].” His voice snaps you out of your thoughts and he tilted his head slightly, “Are you even listening?”

“I am! We just passed the gymnasium, there are two infirmaries, one in the main school building and one near the gym,” you slowly began to repeat and mentally backtrack through the school and Ike nodded proudly.

“Good, I thought I bored you again.”

“I’m telling you, Ike, you can’t bore me. I’ve practically lived with you my entire life,” you laughed. Ike shook his head and he mumbled, “It’s weird we’re finally going to the same school though.”

You nodded in agreement and you said, “Your high school does have a better ranking than the one I would have gone to. Even if this one is an extra ten minutes away.”

He glanced down at you. When was it that he started looking down on you physically? When did he pass your height? Weren’t the two of you the same height just a few years ago? He doesn’t realize that he’s caught staring until you gently waved your hand in front of his face and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“O-Oh,” he shrugged and smiled, “Just thinking it’s nice that we’re in the same school. It’ll keep Mist from nagging when you’re coming over.”

The laughter that escapes your lips is always so bright and cheerful and you added, “Now I’m over every day.”

There’s a twinkle of amusement in your eyes and you smiled, “So take good care of me, okay?”

He rolled his eyes before gently ruffling your hair, “Please, like I ever didn’t take good care of you, [Name].”

***

“You know, Ike.”

Immediately Ike felt the tension in him go up with the tone of voice that Ranulf took on. It was filled with playfulness and curiosity, and he already knew he didn’t want to be on the other end of his badgering. Ike glanced up from his lunch only to see Ranulf and Boyd exchange a sly glance and he scowled, “What.”

“So, we’re in high school, last year.”

“And?”

“And,” Ranulf extended it, dragging it out with a slight change in tone, “You and [Name] have been friends for a while now right?”

“We have. Why?” Ike sat up straighter, and immediately he felt on edge. Whenever it was Ranulf asking the question, he was almost certain this was about you. Just how many times has Ranulf expressed interest in you? And how many times has he had to hear his friend complain that you were too cold towards him?

“Are you certain [Name] doesn’t like anyone?” Ranulf asked, again. Ike sighed and nodded. But Ranulf leaned forward and asked, “But what if [Name] does like someone?”

Ike feels himself tense and he frowned, “Why does that matter to me?”

“Well, you two are best friends. If [Name]’s not with you, Mia’s with ‘em. But if someone else comes into the picture then-”

“Nothing would change,” Ike answered. Yet he feels this strange tug on his heart, something he completely dismisses and Ranulf frowned, “You sure about that?”

“Why does it matter to you anyways?” Ike countered. His fellow blue haired friend shrugged and answered, “I’m just curious, the two of you are inseparable after all, and [Name] even makes you lunch. Just figured that, well, you know, those typical childhood friend tropes-”

“Look, I’ve told you this over and over, I don’t like [Name] like that, and besides-”

“Is Ike here?” your voice is heard from the door and immediately he turns to the door. Your head is visible from where he’s sitting in the classroom and upon meeting your gaze, he waves you over and you excuse yourself from the person at the door before coming in.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” you responded and then handed him an envelope. He tilted his head slightly to one side and asked, “What’s this?”

“Someone asked me to give it to you, so I did,” you responded. The three of you all know what the contents were, and Ranulf lowly whistled, “Boyd would be so jealous of you.”

“What if I don’t read it?” Ike accidentally voiced his thoughts out loud. Your eyes widened, and unknowingly, deep within, you felt relief flood you. But it threw you into a confusion. Why would you feel relief? You frowned, and Ike immediately corrected himself, “I mean, not now, I could read it later.”

“You can’t leave people hanging like that Ike!” you scolded him and he winced slightly. You sighed and weakly smiled, “But you should probably read it. I’ll be leaving now, Mia’s waiting.”

You turned to leave, but you only made it a few steps away before walking back and you added, “Oh yeah, I won’t be walking home with you today.”

“Oh, okay. Where are you going?” Ike casually asked. Though he was curious, where were you going? There’s a sheepish smile on your face and you said, “Boyd said he wanted to talk to me so…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you for dinner though!” you left in a hurry. But Ranulf could see the way Ike’s grip tightened on the back of his chair and he sighed, “Look, it’s obvious that-”

But he stops when he sees the confusion swimming in his friend’s eyes, and he sighed. Never mind.

***

“You’re back late,” Mist said as soon as you walked through their shared bedroom. You’ve settled into living with Ike and his family for the remainder of your high school years since there really was no point in your parents driving that far out when Ike’s family practically treat you as their child as well.

You sighed and slumped against the closed door and Mist glanced at you and asked, “So, how did it go tutoring Boyd?”

“Hell,” you spat out and whined, “Why couldn’t he just ask Soren to do it? Why was it me?”

Mist shrugged, but deep down she couldn’t help but snicker at the reaction of her brother throughout the entire afternoon. Throughout the day, between preparing for dinner, doing chores, and homework, Ike would constantly check his phone or check the front door in hopes that you’d be back. It was almost adorable how worried he was, but it was such a shame that everyone but the two people involved were so clueless about it.

Instead, Mist turns around in her chair and asked, “Did you know the letter was from Aimee?”

“Yeah,” you responded as you dropped your bag by the desk and Mist glanced up at you, “You know how much Ike doesn’t like her… boldness, why do you keep giving him the letters?”

“You know if I say no it’ll be hell for me right?” you pointed out. Mist grumbled and muttered, “I wish she wasn’t so obsessed with him.”

“Same,” you laughed and then asked, “What’s for dinner?”

“Steak.”

“Go figure.”

“It’s Ike cooking, not sure what you were expecting.”

But she hears the door close shut and Mist huffed, “Okay, fine, just ignore me.”

As you slowly made your way towards the kitchen, there’s a cough and you glanced over to the living room where Ike was sitting. There’s a slight rise of the eyebrows and you laughed, “Sorry for coming home late.”

“Boyd took up that much of your time?”

“Unfortunately, he’s dumber than he looks, you know.”

“You know, if he’s bothering you, just tell him to stop.”

Your eyes widened and you answered, “And let him fail his finals? I can’t do that to him right before winter break, we promised the group of us would go to the festival this year, remember?”

“Fail his finals?” Ike parroted. You nodded and it finally dawned on him that it wasn’t a confession. And Ike almost wants to laugh at his strange assumption. After all, Boyd wouldn’t have the guts to fall in love with one of his closest friends. A chuckle escapes him and you asked, “Is Boyd failing his finals that amusing to you?”

“No, no,” Ike reassured you, and he made his way over to the kitchen counter as you started cooking the leftover meat and he said, “I’m just laughing cause you said he’s dumber than he looks.”

He could see you stiffen slightly, and you weakly smiled at him and asked, “Please don’t tell him?”

“My lips are sealed, [Name]. But on one condition.”

He sees you narrow your eyes, but even he knows that you know that it’s not that serious when you see the playfulness in his eyes. He gives you a sheepish grin and asked, “Could you stop giving me Aimee’s letters? I can’t deal with this anymore.”

There’s small laughter shared between the two of you and you answered, “Deal.”

***

“So I heard you’ve been getting tutored by [Name],” Ranulf teased Boyd as he sat with them for once during lunch. Boyd visibly tensed and glared at Ike, “You.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Ike responded. There was a rare sly grin on his face and Ranulf chuckled, “I saw you two after school. [Name] looked so done with you.”

Boyd groaned as he hid his head under his arms and he whined, “I’m struggling in class. What’d you expect?”

“You could have asked us,” Ranulf offered and Boyd deadpanned, “You? Please, I have a higher grade than you.”

“Actually, you don’t,” Ranulf grinned as he pulled out his phone. Upon seeing the grades, Boyd’s shoulders deflate and he mumbled, “Curse you.”

“Nyahaha, what’s your problem anyways? You usually don’t care for the Christmas festival,” Ranulf asked in all seriousness. The blue haired duo leaned forward and Boyd glanced at Ike, and Ike whistled, “I see.”

“What do you see?”

“Ike, no-”

“He wants to take Mist out?” Ranulf guessed. Upon seeing the blush on Boyd’s face, both of them almost cooed at how cute it was. But instead, Ranulf turns to Ike and asked, “So, what do you say big bro?”

“Well, as long as she’s okay with it and she doesn’t cry.”

“Ike!” Boyd made a thankful whimpering noise, and then asked, “Okay but are you two going to get a date or-”

“Well, Lyre or Kyza said they wanted me to go with them, but I really don’t want to choose between them… it creates chaos,” Ranulf grumbled into his hand. Ike and Boyd smiled out of sympathy. They’ve seen it before, every year in fact during this time, and they all knew the chaos that would ensue if Ranulf chooses one over the other. Ranulf turns his heterochromatic eyes towards Ike and teased, “You gonna ask [Name]?”

“Huh?”

“You should, before someone else does,” Boyd added and sighed, “[Name]s’ popularity has slowly grown over the years, I’m surprised that no one’s managed to grab her attention.”

Ike sat there silently. Outwardly he was calm, but inside he was confused. [Name]? We always go to the festival together, what’s the difference in asking?

“Trust us, bro. [Name] would love for you to ask. It’ll make things more official, you know?”

“Make what official?” Ike questioned, and Ranulf sighed, “Never mind, just-”

He stopped and there’s a clear exasperation on his visage and he sighed, “Why are you such a brick, Ike?”

***

That night, you were making dinner when Ike noticed how happy Mist was as she walked through the door. Upon seeing her brother’s slightly smug expression she pouted and muttered, “Don’t.”

“So, Boyd?”

“What’s this about the blockhead?” you joined in as you glanced over to them. Mist sighed and fidgeted and you teased, “Aww, did our baby sis say yes?”

She nodded and Ike shook his head fondly after she went to put away her stuff. You glanced over to him and asked, “Are you going to go with Aimee?”

“No.”

You’ve never heard him spit out a no with that much distaste in it. A small laughter escapes your lips and he asked, “What about you?”

“What about me?” you asked in return. HE could hear the playfulness in your tone even if you weren’t facing him and he asked, “Going with anyone?”

“Considering that Mia’s going with Rhys and Mist has Boyd and you’re probably going with Ranulf or Soren, I’ll say my answer is no.”

“Ranulf’s going with Lyre or Kyza, we all know how those two are.”

“Oh right,” you laughed and Ike sat there silently. Why was he relieved that you weren’t going with anyone? Why did it matter? He doesn’t realize he’s staring until you turn around and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“You should go with me.”

He didn’t realize he had said out loud until he saw the disbelief in your eyes and the surprise on your visage. His eyes widened and mirrored yours, but before he could take back his words you asked, “You want me to go with you?”

He paused, and then slowly nodded. Instead of the rejection like he had expected, or an increase in confusion, a brilliant smile is seen on your face when you agree. He didn’t realize his heart skipped a beat, nor did he realize that he was in complete awe by your sheer radiance.

***

Honestly, Ike didn’t think the chaos of the Christmas festival would actually affect him. After all, every year it’s been the same. Go out, get food, hang out with family and friends, watch the Christmas tree lighting and fireworks, then go home.

So how did it happen that you were missing? One moment you were by his side, excitedly playing those simple carnival games with him, and one moment later, you were missing. Did you get swept away in the crowd? He wouldn’t be surprised, judging by how busy the streets were tonight. But gods, he really should have kept a closer eye on you.

“[Name]!” he shouted out. His fingers fumbled for his phone as he tried again to contact you. You didn’t answer earlier, and he was hoping you’d answer him now.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Please. He glanced around, hoping that maybe he could spot you from his slightly elevated position facing the street.

“Ike?”

“[Name]! Where are you?”

“I got pulled away by Mia! I’m so sorry, I tried to tell her I was with you, but she didn’t listen!”

He lets out a breath of relief and he asked, “Let me know where you are, I’ll go to you.”

“I’m near the front of the Christmas tree lighting area,” there was a pause and you continued, “Near the blue taped fence.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

He was already making his way towards the front once you mentioned it. He wasn’t sure what it was that made him rush, wasn’t quite sure what it was that made him so desperate.

“Ike, you don’t have to rush, you know there’s still-”

Your voice cuts off as soon as you see him, and you laughed, “Or not.”

There’s a fond smile on your face as you hang up on him, and he ducks under the tape. You could see the small puffs of his breath as he tried to stabilize himself. He was looking away from you, clearly embarrassed that he was worried from the way he averted his gaze. You gently tapped his shoulder, and he looks over to you, and then frowned, “Wasn’t Mia with you?”

“She was, but she left to find Rhys. He couldn’t find us.”

Ike muttered into his scarf, “That’s great.”

“I’m sorry for disappearing like that. You’re not mad are you?”

He wouldn’t look at you, and to you, that’s already a bad sign. You fidgeted slightly and he shook his head, “No.”

You let out a sigh of relief. But your head lowers and you avert your gaze from him and softly murmured, “Sorry for disappearing half way through the night… I didn’t think Mia would-”

“Hey,” his voice brings your attention back up. He’s gently patting your shoulder and he smiled, “It’s fine. I’m just glad nothing happened to you.”

He paused, and then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, “I really thought something happened. I panicked. I… I’m just glad you’re fine.”

You wanted to respond, but suddenly the booming speaker announcing the countdown caused you to turn towards the tree. But just as soon as the speaker began, you felt the crowd shift and push you enough for you to almost lose balance.

And the fall never occurs. There’s a warmth on your left hand as Ike pulls you towards him, his hand that’s wrapped around yours tightening as he keeps you grounded. You look up, and you could feel your heartbeat rapidly increase. When did he start having such a large effect on you? When did the young boy that used to tease you and casually scare you by dropping bugs on your hand or splashing you at the pool grow into the young man before you?

You found your fingers lacing with his, and he averts his gaze from you. You weren’t sure when it was that you slowly started to like him as more than a friend. You weren’t sure when it was that you started to think of him about small trivial things.

Though you weren’t sure what it was, you were glad to have realized it now, even if it was just one-sided. You squeezed his hand in return, but you can’t tell if he notices it, or if he’s ignoring it. But that short glance at you and then back at the tree was all you needed to know that he did notice it, and he made no intention to pull away.

Your gaze slowly drifts over to the tree, and you find yourself counting down along with the crowd as the tree lit up. A smile grows on both of you, and he’s already shifted his gaze to you. There it was, the genuine happiness on your face too radiant for him to look away, and too brilliant for him to stare at for too long. But soon you’re facing him, and he tries to look away but you laughed.

He raises an eyebrow and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” you teased as you swung the hand holding yours lightly. He looks down and you can feel him wanting to pull away and you softly murmured, “IT’s okay to hold on a bit longer.”

His eyes widen, and you can see the swirl of confusion and you smiled, “If you’ll let me hold on that is.”

There was something different about you. But it was still you, everything still felt the same. Though when his gaze meets yours, he can’t help but think that you’re exceptionally lovely tonight, and that he’s glad that he’s the only one who can see it.

In his eyes, there was nothing other than unadulterated love and adoration, and you risked it. You wanted to know, you needed to know.

“I like you, Ike.”

You could hear a slight hitch of his breath, and watched as his expressions flickered slightly until it dawned on him. You were expecting him to respond with either acceptance or rejection, but the soft chuckle caught you off guard and he sighed, “I’m really slow, aren’t I?”

“Well, yes, but, I guess both of us are,” you laughed.

There’s a pause and your mesmerized by the brightness of those azure blue orbs. No matter how many times you see them, they captivated you, and the love that they held had you weak. He smiled brightly and whispered, “Merry Christmas. And.. I like you too, [Name].”

**Author's Note:**

> If you told me this was going to be super long, I wouldn't have believed you.
> 
> But who am I kidding it's Ike of course it's long


End file.
